Tinting mechanism



June 20, 1944. w. WHITEHEAD ET AL 2,351,729

TINT'ING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 26, 1940 INVENTORS WlLUAM WHITEHEADw WILUAM J. ELVIN BY $4M a W ATTORNEYS Patented June 20, 1944 TINTIN G MECHANISM William Whitehead, Rye, N. Y., and William J. Elvin, Cumberland, Md., asslznors to Celanese Corporation oi America, a corporation of Delaware Application November 26, 1940, Serial No.'36'l,172

2 Claims. (01. 68-202)- This invention relates to the tinting of yarns, and relates more particularly to the fugitive tinting of yarns for purposes of identification.

An object of our invention is the provision of means for applying tinting solutions uniformly to rapidly moving yarns while said yarns are being wound and/or twisted on to bobbins.

A further object of our invention is the provision of means for traversing the yarn as it is being tinted so that it may be wound evenly on.

said bobbins.

Still a further object of our invention is the provision of tinting means for highly twisted yarns useful in .the weaving of crepe fabrics.

Other objects of our invention will appear from the following detailed description.

In the application of tints to yarns, and particularly in the,'application of fugitive tints to yarns for the purposes of identifying the yarns, it is highly desirable that the depth of shade along the length of the yarn be uniform since it is I ing means for the tint trough and roller, the yarn guides, the take-up spools, the steaming chamher and the yarn feed bobbins; and

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of another embodiment of our invention showing the steaming chamber, the tinting roller and a suitable ring and traveler for imparting twist to the yarnas it is being drawn downwardly and wound to forma suitable package of twisted yarn.

Like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

In the device of our invention, a yarn 4 is twisted by being drawn continuously over the end of a rotating bobbin 5 being driven at very high only when the color is uniform that the yarn can be easily and quickly identified. In addition,

uniformity of tint minimizes any tendency toward ringiness or streakiness in a particular bobbin of yarn or also avoids any variations in shade from cone to cone which" detract from the appearance and saleability of theyarn. Not

heavy'scouring, bleaching or both, frequently to the detriment of the yarn or fabric properties.

Our invention will now be described in detail with reference to, the accompanying drawing. wherein there is shown a device, incorporating certain preferred embodiments, for applying tints to a moving yarn.

In the drawing Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of our. novel tinting mechanism showing a tint being applied to a yarn, by a suitably driven roller set in a trough, while the yarn is wound after it is twisted by being drawn over the end of a rotating package and passed through a steam chamber;

Fig.2 is afront'elevational view of the mechanismof Fig; 1 showing the driving and traversspeed in a clock-wise direction by suitable means (not shown). The yarn being twisted is'guided by a 'pigtail guide 8 into a steaming chamber I which ls'provided with suitable openings 8 and I through which the yarn 4 enters and leaves. By means of a pigtail guide 10 above the steaming chamber 1 at which the direction of the yarn path is changed, the twist which is being inserted in the yarn is prevented from running beyond the'guide l0 and in this way substantially all the twist is inserted in the yarn between the pigtail guides 8 and It while it is under the influence of the steam in chamber 1. As is well known in the art, the action of the steam serves to set the twist,th us enhancing the creping properties of the yarn. After the twist has been inserted, the tint is applied to the yarn by drawing it over a rotating roller ll set in a semi-circular concern-- I tric trough I! which holds a quantity of tintlni solution It in which the roller II is partially submerged so as to pickup the tinting liquid. The yarn afterbeing tintedpasses through another plgtail guide i4 and is taken up by a take up spool I5 carried on and driven by a shaft II. The roller ii is rotated by a suitably powered drive shaft ll journaled'in a bearing ii. In addition to the rotary movement of the roller, the tinting trough" i2 and roller II are traversed horizontally by the action of a traverse bar- I. so that a uniform amount of tinting liquid is applied to the yarn as it comes'in contact with the roller. The reciprocating horizontal movement of the traverse bar it is produced by the rotatlonof a circular, peripherally-grooved cam move back: and forth horizontally as the cam 20 rotates. The cam 2i is'mounted on a spider 22 which is attached at the other end to a hollow scribed above in detail.

II is rotated'during its traverse motion as by a suitable slider gear (not shown) so keyed to the shaft II" at any convenient point outside the trough I! that it will mesh uninterruptedly with a complementary drivingl gear during the entire traversing motion.

As an alternative, the yarn may be tinted after the insertion of the twist as shown in Fig. 3.. In doing this, the yarn 4 is drawn downwardly through a steaming chamber 1, provided with suitable openings 8 and 9 to permit the passage of the yarn therethrough. Aiterbeing steamed, the yarn 4 is then drawn through a pigtail guide 24 and tint is appliedby leading it over the rotating tinting roller H set in the trough i2 and partially submerged in the tinting solution 13. The roller ll is supported and rotated by shaft l1. Both the roller II and the trough 121 are given a reciprocating horizontal traverse motion while the yarn is in motion by the means de- After being tinted, the yarn 4 passes through a pigtail guide 25 and is then wound on to a pim 26 rotating at high speed.

The twist is inserted in the yarn by the action of a traveler 21 through which the yarn passes as said traveler is carried about a ring 28, the device being a twisting means well known to the art. The arrangement of the parts is such that the twist being inserted in the yarn runs back and substantially the greatest portion is inserted while the yarn is {under the influence of the steam in the chamber I. In this way the tint is applied after the yarn is twisted.

1 While our invention is applicable for the tintv boss Hkeyed to a'suitable driving shaft (not ing of various types of yarns such as those made from cotton, wool, silk, the regenerated cellulose type of rayon and mixtures thereof, it is particularly applicable for the tinting of yarns of organic derivative of cellulose materials, and particularly such yams in which a high degree of twist has been inserted with the object of obtaining crepe yarns. Yarns made from organic esters of cellulose and cellulose ethers are suitable. Examples of organic esters of cellulose are cellulose acetate, cellulose propionate, cellulose butyrate and mixed esters such as cellulose aceto-propionate and cellulose aceto-butyrate, while examples of cellulose ethers are ethyl cellulose and benzyl cellulose.

-It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is merely given by way of illustration and that many variations may be made therein without departing fromthe spirit of our invention.

Having described our invention, what we desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device for coloring travelling yarns,

the combination with a movable, color-carrying surface to contact said yarn, of means for supplying coloring material to said surface, means for causing said movable, color-carrying surface to traverse across the path of said travelling yarn and traversing guide means for guiding said travelling yarn on to a take-up package.

2. In a device for coloring travelling yarns, the

combination with a rotatable cylindrical colorcarrying roller to contact said yarn, of a concentric trough carrying a coloring solution in which said roller is partially immersed, means including a traverse bar attached to said trough for causing 

